Sure,as a parent I have a choice but wow, halo, far cry, etc aren't good games for my 5 year old to play and for him to get the sort of world building, free form, social activity he can by playing at the park or with his friends through video games, he needs to fight through the software, deal with online predators, and just a general collection of aggressive idiots.
Can it be done? Sure, but it's not the natural mode of play for those video games. Even stuff like wow or fallout, you're not creating your own world, which is what my kid does every time he picks up his legos.
If you want to defend video games and tv as good replacements for old fashioned toys and playing. Go right on ahead. For some kids, I agree with you. But study after study and my own personal experience shows me that most kids will learn more, and get more out of a box of wood blocks than they will from an xbox,